Daily Life with Appalachian Monsters
by bootysmash
Summary: Follow the adventures of DJ as she comes to terms with the monsters that surround her! Set in the Appalachian Mountains, focussing on local folk lore and similar fairytales. Rated M, for language and further sexual situations.
1. Chapter 1

Daily Life with Appalachian Monsters: Ch. 1 - I Got You in my Sights

A cold December wind blew through the trees, spots of snow capped the ground as the forest began to wake. With what little light illuminated the dawn, a shape was seen rustling amongst the trees, a hunter sat in her deer stand wishing she were home. DJ pulled her face mask down as she sighed, her warm breath cooling the fabric and in turn freezing her already chapped lips. _I don't even like hunting_ , she grumbled. The woman leaned back into her seat, rifle in lap as she waited for the dead forest to stir.

Once she had felt her lips beginning to dry out, DJ brought her face mask back up, and returned to scanning the forest floor. The feed she had set up here sat roughly forty yards away, awaiting the prey she had seen so many signs of. For the past few weeks she would come up here and see many large tracks surrounding the site. At first she thought it'd be a one time thing, but due to the increase in activity she thought she would go ahead and try her luck.

 _Whatever can keep me entertained_ she thought, watching her cool breath form a small cloud in front of her. It had been a year since she had moved to her brother James' place, him being out of the country for extended periods of time. Following a series of convoluted and unfortunate events, she found herself quitting her job and moving cross country back to Tennessee. For whatever reason, her brother decided to buy and renovate some huge dilapidated house. At one time she thought it was to settle and start a large family, but strangely he still remained taking contract work out of the country. She was lucky to see him once every few years, and that was back when she lived in Seattle. Now she found herself 'caretaker' to his ridiculous unused property, wasting countless hours on the internet and sleeping in. She pulled her camouflaged suit closer, and wondered if bringing blankets was against hunter code. Another stifled yawn, another heavy breath, and she was back to staring at the unchanging scenery.

It wasn't long until the sun truly started peaking through the trees, illuminating the cold and dead forest around her. It was alien almost, leaves and dirt occasionally interrupted by the odd bush or lichen covered rock. The silence only being punctuated by a trilling bird or the rustle of wind in the trees. DJ found it beautiful. This time of year was her favorite, and she fondly remembered the hikes of her childhood, getting lost in the woods, having her brother and father come hunt her down, and doing it again the next day. It was strangely cathartic, she didn't have to think, she didn't have to remember painful memories, she just had to breath, and watch the motionless world around her.

Two hours had gone by, and not a single sign of any deer. _Well, at least we got out of bed today_ , she mumbled through her head, shifting her weight so that she could begin her descent to the ground. Just as she was about to climb down the ladder, a noise startled her into stillness. Just barely past her feed, DJ spotted movement through the trees. Quickly she brought the scope of the rifle up to her eye, settling the forestock of the gun on the bar in front of her. She could clearly see fur, behind a tree, a soft tail wiggling as the deer approached the feed. Carefully leading to where she anticipated her prey would walk, she carefully loaded a single round into the chamber, and slowly locked the bolt into place. Her heartbeat quickened, the moment sending electricity through her nerves.

The deer moved behind the tree, in a moment DJ knew it would be visible, and she could take her shot. Just as she was about to pull the trigger, the 'deer' came into full view. A small petite woman, a freckled face with a cute dark button nose appeared in her view, her legs were covered with short fur and her feet ended in hooves. Through the scope the woman looked up towards the hunter, eyes wide in fear. DJ was so shocked, that she pulled the trigger.

The gunshot shattered the beautiful silence of the morning, DJ's body recoiled and the rifle slipped from her hand, crashing fifteen feet to the forest floor.

"Fuck!" she screamed, followed by a more useful, "H-hey! Are you ok?!" quickly scrambling from her perch, DJ flew down the ladder, leaping off when she reached the appropriate height. She sprinted with all her might towards the location of the woman, tears springing at her eyes and fear rolling over her in waves. She came into the small clearing and saw the woman hunched over on the ground.

"Pleasedontbedead, pleasedontbedead, pleasedontbedead!" she muttered frantically, carefully rolling the girl over and searching for the presumed wound. Her hands deftly checking every inch of her body, searching for blood, a hole, anything. Her hand came up with a small trace of red and her breath hitched, slowly coming back down to where her hand had been, the girls left side of her abdomen. Hands shaking she pulled back the small tan sweater to reveal a surprising set of abs, almost as if etched into a roman statue. The source of the blood was nothing more than a cut, barely a few inches long, the source being a small branch on the ground, which had a torn piece of cloth hanging from it.

DJ's breath released like a flood, her tears freely dripping down her face as she wiped her nose on the back of her hand. A shaky laugh escaping as she began checking the girls head to see if she had hit it on anything. The girl was very pretty: cute, pointed, fur lined ears connecting to an acute face. Soft pink lips sat underneath a cute brown nose, freckles leading towards thick eyelashes. She had long brown hair tied into a braid on her right side, vines and flowers intertwining throughout, with a pair of small ivory horns poking through. She had a small bust, her waist was trim leading to wide hips and strong muscular fur lined legs. Just as DJ's hand reached up to check the back of the girl's head, her eyes snapped open revealing two brilliant dark green orbs, that promptly widened in fear.

"AHHHHHHH!" The girl offered.

"AHHHHHHH!" DJ countered.

"Get your hands off me you dirty hunter!" The small girl shrieked, quickly scrambling backwards on her butt before she connected with a tree. Her chest rising and falling incredibly fast.

"H-hey wait! Don't move too much! You're probably in shock!" DJ threw her hands up causing her 'prey' to flinch.

"Im in shock that some dirty old man would shoot at me and then come over to fondle their prey!" She shouted, a deep blush was slowly creeping across her face, she crossed her arms in a hug around her body.

"W-what? Im not a man!" DJ ripped off her face mask and scarf, letting her short red hair fall from out of its bun, the tips touched with a faded blue. She had multiple piercings in her ears, and a small stud in her nose. Her own face was covered with freckles, and her eyes were a beautiful pale blue, glistening with the tears recently shed.

The faun's mouth was agape, and surprisingly her blush grew tenfold. "I-i-it doesn't matter what your gender is! Don't you know to respect a girls privacy!" She shouted, her breathing slowing only slightly.

DJ groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Look, I'm really sorry but if you come back to my place I can treat your wound ok?"

The faun-girl's large eyes blinked, "My…?" Her eyes traveled down to her stomach, where she saw the small patch of blood that had stained her shirt.

"You shot me?" She asked weakly, "You… shot… m-" her accusation cut short, she promptly slumped forward and passed out.

—

Janna woke up warm and cosy. She blinked and wiped the tears of sleep from her eyes, finding that she was settled comfortably on a large couch, with a small blanket covering her lower half. She attempted to sit up, but winced as a small pain came from her left side. She lifted the blanket and slowly inched her shirt up, only to find clean bandages wrapped around her midsection. She then realized that she wasn't wearing her sweater anymore, instead a long baggy t-shirt with a weird cartoon girl on it, hanging off her lithe frame. Janna blushed fiercely, _Did that woman take me to her house? Did she take off my shirt?_

The faun-girl finally took stock in her surroundings, she was in a large foyer-like area of a house. It seemed as if it was a cabin, rows of pictures and ornaments hung from the walls, and much to her disgust, a few horns of animals hunted long past sat on trophied mounts. A large television sat on the wall opposite of her, rows of entertainment devices and movies lining a shelf underneath it. To her right was an open wall leading to a kitchen, and to her left a large fireplace roared happily. Surrounding her were smaller reclining chairs and couches, with an ottoman topped with blankets and pillows in the center.

As Janna sat up, the woman entered the room, happily sipping on a glass of water before freezing at the sight of the now awake girl. Janna now saw that her would-be saver was fairly tall, a little over six feet. She was much harder looking than most young woman similar in age, strong forearms and sharp shoulders were the cause of her early misconception of the woman's sex. Her face was sharp angles, littered with freckles. On her right forearm was a small feather tattoo, and her leg had a set of brightly colored flowers adorning it. She wore a long sleeve shirt, rolled up to her elbows, and a pair of sleep shorts loosely tied around her stomach. The two stared at one another for a good moment before the taller girl cleared her throat.

"Um, Hi?" She said softly, clearing her throat more after taking another sip of water, "How are you feeling?"

Janna stayed silent, clutching the blanket and drawing her legs inwards.

DJ sighed again, she was doing that a lot today, she set down her water and moved to the couch, stopping a few feet away as the faun curled tighter into herself.

"Hey, it's ok, it's ok. Im really sorry about what happened earlier today, I didn't mean to uh…" The red-head trailed off.

"Shoot me?" The small girl spat venomously.

"Right, well almost shoot you. You just fell and scratched your stomach a little bit. I just brought you back home to patch you up."

The faun-girl let her hand settle on her stomach, before sending another accusatory glare at the red-head, "H-how do I know you didn't take anything important? Why should I believe you?"

DJ looked at her in disbelief before letting a short laugh escape her lips, "Oh my god, how did you make it through life so paranoid?"

Janna's face lit up like a fire but her disapproving scowl never left her face. DJ threw her hands up before making her way to the couch, pausing slightly as if to ask her guest if she could sit down, before finally seating when she earned a curt nod.

"I used to be a nurse, and while scratches and cuts are a cake walk for me, I don't think I have the skills or training to remove a kidney or whatever you're thinking. Im just trying to make up for that whole incident outside. Im really, _really_ , sorry ok?" DJ gave the girl a mournful look, trying to convey her guilt in any way possible.

Janna slowly relaxed, a few tears springing to her eyes that she quickly wiped away, "Um… It's ok. Im sorry for freaking out like that. The whole thing was… Really scary." DJ shook her head.

"You don't have to be sorry, it's completely my fault. You had every right to be scared, but I want you to know if there is anything that I can do, It's yours ok?"

Janna nodded, the two of them descending into an awkward silence, before the faun-girl mumbled something.

"Im sorry?" DJ asked puzzled.

"My name's Janna Forest-borne, it's nice to meet you."

DJ sighed in relief, reaching over and offering a hand, before the shy faun took it.

"Dorothy Jennings, but everyone calls me DJ. It's nice to meet you too Janna, I just wish it was in a better circumstance." She chuckled.

Janna nodded in agreement before looking around the house again, "This place is beautiful by the way, well with the exception of those horrible things on the wall."

DJ winced, thinking about her brother's extensive hunting trophies. "Yeah, sorry about that, this is my brother's house. He used to be big into the whole hunting thing."

Janna tilted her head, "Wait, then why were you out today?"

DJ shrugged, "Honestly, no idea. Im taking care of Jay's house while he's overseas for work. I've been so bored lately, and it is deer season…" She trailed off.

Janna's head tiled further, "But wait I thought you couldn't hunt around Faun colonies?"

"Faun colony? Theres no… Wait, you mean the one out in South Carolina? We're in Unicoi County, in Tennessee."

Janna's eyes widened before she groaned and slapped a hand to her forehead, "Oh Pan above, I did it again."

Janna peaked through her hair at her host before continuing, "I uh… Tend to have a habit to wander around and getting lost. A lot. I just couldn't sleep last night… And then I was walking through the forest and was enjoying the waking of the winter animals and…"

"Walked right into my line of sight huh?" DJ grinned but as she thought about what the girl said, she came to a realization, "You do realize you walked like 40 miles here right?"

Janna nodded, her blush returning as she hid her face in her hands, "I get lost. A lot. Not to mention I crossed the state border, left the colony and have been missing for…"

"It's four p.m." DJ offered, causing Janna to flinch.

"For a lot longer than I would like."

DJ patted the girls shoulder affectionately, mirth bubbling in her stomach before a cold realization hit her, "Oh no… I hurt a liminal. Im going to jail."

Janna jumped up grabbing DJ's hands, "It was an accident! Im not where I should be, and I wasn't wearing protective visible colors! Not to mention I look exactly like a deer! It's not your fault trust me!"

DJ was taken aback by the sudden outburst and defense of her actions, if truth be told she was quite relieved the girl didn't blame her, but it didn't stop her guilty conscious from harping on her.

"That's really sweet Janna, but I gotta call the police and get this all settled."

Janna paled, "B-but, I'm gonna get in trouble too! Cant we just, have you drive me back? Or I can head back after I'm feeling better!"

DJ shook her head, "Im sorry Janna, I gotta set this right. Plus we got to get you home."

—

Two hours and a call to the police station, and an even longer call to the local Liminal Exchange organization later, a sharply dressed Exchange agent was at DJs door. He wore dark sunglasses, despite it being almost sundown, his skin was a deep chocolate brown, and his hair was tied into neat dreadlocks that hung in a ponytail behind him. He was easily seven feet tall, and had hundreds of pounds on DJ, despite not having an inch of fat on him.

To say DJ was intimidated was an understatement.

"Um- welcome to my home, agent…?" DJ swallowed a large lump gathering in her throat.

"Reginald. Agent Reginald is fine." A deep bass voice boomed, the giant entered through the doorway and approached the large living room. "Is Miss Janna here?"

"Yeah, she's resting on the couch right now." DJ followed him into the house.

Janna was quietly sitting underneath her blanket, furry legs curled to her chest as she quietly watched the murmuring television in the room. Her wide eyes looked up as the large agent entered the room. Casting her eyes downward she let out a quiet, "Hi, Reggie." as the agent passed by the couch, patted her shoulder, and took a seat in the chair opposite of her. The two marinated in silence for a moment before the agent removed his glasses, revealing two deep brown eyes.

"Are you feeling alright Janna?" The faun nodded, eyes still focusing intently on her knees. The agent placed his hands on his own knees, "Janna, you aren't in any trouble." The girl cast a furtive glance from beneath her long braid, as if the curtain of hair was there to protect her from a scolding.

"However, I can't say anything about what the colony elders will say when you get back." Janna returned her gaze back to her knees, nodding before brushing her hair out of her face, sitting properly again.

"What about DJ?" She asked.

"While the situation at first seemed quite severe, the agency and the police have determined it an accident, and therefore no legal troubles will come of this."

Both women let out pent up sighs of relief, the atmosphere of the room lightening considerably, DJ herself began rubbing her forehead before taking her own seat on the couch.

"In fact I find it quite lucky that you were found by a former nurse, even if she was the one who shot at you." The agent shifted in his seat, one of his gargantuan legs crossing over the other, his hands connecting in his lap. "For that I thank you, Miss Jennings. However I would suggest taking a break from hunting for a while."

The red head let out a small chuckle, "I think i've had my fill of guns for a while Agent Reginald. So what happens now?"

The man nodded, "Well, all there is left to do is get Miss Janna home, and back to her _very_ worried clan." Janna groaned but sat up, reluctantly she stood and made towards the exchange agent.

"No sense it putting it off I suppose." she grumbled, before shyly turning back to her hostess. "I'm sorry for all the trouble DJ, thank you for taking care of me."

DJ stood and pulled the faun into a tight hug, "I'm just happy things worked out Janna, and again there is nothing to be sorry about, if you ever need anything let me know."

The small girl returned the hug, hoping that her blush was not visible, as she was tightly pulled into the taller girl's chest. As the two broke apart, DJ perked up, "Before you leave I have something for you." DJ scampered from the room before quickly returning with Janna's sweater, the hole previously torn through the side was patched up, and the sweater washed, looking good as new.

"Turns out sutures and sewing weren't as different as I thought." She offered the sweater back to Janna, who gratefully accepted, hugging the article of clothing to her chest. "Thank you so much DJ! Oh I thought it was definitely ruined!" The girl hurried off into another room to quickly change.

DJ laughed before finding herself alone with Reginald, awkwardly she looked for something to say, "So… This happens often?"

The man's eyes crinkled, almost as if he was smiling, but his lips did not move, "More often than you know. Though I must say this is the first time she has come out of a situation so happy, and not completely terrified or hungry. I'd even go as far to say that she enjoyed her time here, near death experience aside."

DJ blushed, "I won't lie, it was nice to have a guest, even if it was only for a little while."

Reginald gave her a measured look, before flipping his glasses back onto his face, "Tell me Miss Jennings, have you heard of the exchange program?"

DJ nodded, "Of course, its all anyone has been talking about for the past couple of years."

The man returned the nod before reaching into the inside of his black suit, pulling a shining business card out of it.

"Despite the recent events of today, I believe that you might benefit from hosting a homestay, you certainly have the space and time. And I believe a little company is good for hermits who hole themselves up in the mountains."

DJ accepted the card, on it were only two lines: Reginald's name, and a phone number.

"Give me a call if you're interested." as he finished his pitch, Janna reentered the room, holding the folded shirt that DJ had lent her, "Thanks again DJ, I hope that this isn't the last time we get to see each other."

DJ smiled, "I hope it isn't either."

Agent Reginald led the faun-girl by her shoulder back to the front door, "I'm sure it won't be. Good night Miss Jennings."

—

Days passed, and DJ found herself immensely bored once more. Her mind constantly thinking back to the events of a few days ago, and to the words that the Exchange Agent had said to her. At first DJ had immediately disliked the idea. Janna was great, but DJ had found a lot of solace in the solitude of the mountains, a lot of the time she spent here was spent healing from her wounds from her previous life in Seattle. However, after a few days time, especially when the ever present feeling of boredom began to settle, DJ realized that she had been longing for company once more.

She found that going back to her old hermit-like habits was pretty unhealthy, and began to think that maybe living with and speaking to another everyday might be a better change of pace. With these thoughts in mind, a week later, she emailed her brother asking for permission before she carried out her new mission. Surprisingly, she got a rather terse email back in only a few hours, the entire letter containing only the phrase, _Sounds good to me_. With a shrug she dialed Agent Reginald, and within a few hours had received an email file containing documents to be signed and read. After familiarizing herself with the Interspecies Exchange Treaty, she happily typed away into the many forms she was required to fill out, before sending them back to the agency.

After another week of waiting, and a trip down to town to get her photo taken, DJ was in possession of a plastic ID detailing her to be a legitimate Interspecies Host. Happily she traveled home and phoned Agent Reginald, who assured her that they already had several applicants in mind to stay. He let her know that her first home stay would be arriving by the end of the week. When pressed to reveal the nature of the liminal, Reginald was surprisingly cryptic, simply saying he thought it best that their identity be kept as a surprise.

Grumbling, DJ spent the rest of the time cleaning, moving furniture, dusting and fixing up one of the several guest rooms in the house. Her brother's cabin was two stories, with another smaller room comprising of the third story, normally kept for storage of her brothers numerous documents and files. The basement, was built entirely for the purpose of housing a boiler, sat mostly empty, containing many construction supplies and tools, most likely left over from James's extensive remodeling of the residence. DJ decided to focus mostly on the livable parts of the house, and the week quickly sped by.

As the day of the move came, DJ found herself in a nervous tizzy in anticipation of the arrival. Her clothes were surprisingly neater than she normally wore, which wasn't exactly difficult considering that her normal attire consisted of sweat pants and spaghetti straps, bra optional. Regardless, she wore a nice pair of jeans, a nice button up shirt, and a favorite zip up hoody to fight the cold of the winter months. In fact, it turned out to be the day before new years eve, and DJ found it poetic that she should under take so much change in such an appropriate time period.

A knock on the door sent a wide grin across her face, she raced to the door before quickly steadying herself with a breath, and opened the door.

"Welcome!" She called, before her mouth hung open in a gape, in front of her stood a beaming Deer faun girl standing next to the hulking Agent Reginald.

"Hi DJ! Im glad to be back!"


	2. Chapter 2

Daily Life with Appalachian Monsters Ch. 2: A Deer in the Headlights

DJ's wide open mouth soon clamped shut before breaking out into a wide grin. "Janna!" she rushed forward and brought the girl into a hug, "I thought it would be impossible but I was hoping it might be you!"

Janna was wearing the sweater she had worn the day they met, this time with slightly longer pants that ended just above her calves, allowing her furry legs to poke out. She had a red scarf wrapped around her neck, and her trade mark braid hanging to the side. Surprisingly the flowers in her hair seemed to look the same as last time, just as brightly shining as if it were a spring morning, and not the dreary December morning that they stood in.

DJ turned towards the hulking agent beside them, "Im assuming you had something to do with this Reggie?"

The man shrugged, "No idea what you're talking about, and it's Agent Reginald, Miss Jennings."

"Of course." DJ scoffed, before grabbing Janna's luggage, which comprised of two medium sized suitcases, and a rucksack on her person.

"Did you not need to bring anything else Janna?" DJ asked hefting the items in towards the house.

The faun shook her head, "Fauns don't put a lot of stock in material items, most of that is clothes for winter and such. Im one of the odd balls in the clan. A lot of the traditional members still… Practice the old ways."

DJ raised an eyebrow before glancing at the Exchange Agent, who again, didn't offer anything more than a shift in his shoulders. Janna simply cast her eyes in another direction.

DJ chuckled, "And I thought it was only Satyrs that practiced nudity." Janna eeped, but a small smile was on her rosey face.

"It seems you both have a lot to learn from one another," injected Reginald, walking towards Janna and placing a massive hand on her shoulder, "but you two have plenty of time to find out. Miss Jennings, this begins the start of your hosting, providing a two year period without any incident, Janna will be allowed to become a full fledged member of society, it is your responsibility to make sure she integrates properly, and learns as much as she can about humanity."

DJ smiled, "Trust me, Ill take good care of her. And please you can just call me DJ." she offered a hand, which was soon engulfed with his.

"Ill keep that in mind, Miss Jennings." The agent nodded to the two before leaving through the front door. A moment later, a car was heard exiting the gravel driveway.

DJ turned her smile to Janna, "Come on, Ill show you to your room."

The two climbed a set of stairs that sat beyond the kitchen, leading to the second story of the house. It opened into a long hallway, flanked by several doors, with a large door set at the end. DJ opened one of the first doors on the left, leading into a simple bedroom with a twin size bed. On the left was a large full length mirror set in an intricate frame, with a full sized dresser beside it. Opposite of that was the bed, and a small closet for clothes. Parallel to the entrance was a large window, that peered out into the backyard of the house, which dropped into the valley below, giving a wonderful view of the surrounding mountains.

"Here's one of the guest rooms, I thought this one might be the nicest, but if you want to move into another it shouldn't be a problem." DJ lay the two suitcases at the foot of the bed. "Or if you want a different bed Im sure we can pester Reggie for some funds."

Janna shook her head, "No, this is perfect! The view is beautiful too!" Janna walked to the frost covered window, her breath fogging the pane as she eagerly pushed against it. The view opened up into the snow spotted valley, which was covered inch by inch with thick forest. The view only punctuated by the odd house here, or a small road there.

"Awesome! I hoped you'd like it. The other rooms are almost identical, this one just has one of the better views." she moved back into the hallway beckoning for Janna to follow. Walking past two doors she opened the third on the right, "This is the bathroom, you have a shower up here so you don't need to use the one downstairs, but if you ever need a little more space I don't mind sharing it."

Janna nodded, it _was_ a full size bathroom, but the shower was a little older, the faucet hanging over a large porcelain tub.

"I think I'll be alright, I'm used to bathing in rivers and ponds, so this is pretty luxurious for me."

DJ raised an eyebrow, saving the question on her tongue for later, "Well still, I don't want you to feel like anything in the house is off limits to you. You're welcome to use anything you might need. The only exceptions being the basement and attic, which are my brother's storage spots."

"Thanks, I think I'm good. You seem really excited by the way, more than me." Janna teased, setting her rucksack on the bed before taking a seat, bouncing slightly on the cushy mattress.

DJ actually flushed at the comment, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before continuing, "Hah, I can't help it. You're were my first guest in months, and now you're my roommate. It's really nice having someone around, instead of talking to the wall."

Janna herself found herself blushing, "S-sorry, Im really excited too. I didn't mean to make you feel awkward."

The red head waved her hand, "Don't worry about it, wanna take a tour around the house?"

Janna nodded eagerly, and the two exited the room before heading back downstairs.

Her host started with the foyer, and was quickly familiarizing Janna with the layout. On the first floor was the kitchen, living space, master bedroom and a large modern bathroom.

"My brother James bought this place five years ago, and he's been fixing it up ever since."

"It's pretty out of the way, and it seems older. How did he find this place?" Janna asked.

DJ shrugged, "I think he told me that it was abandoned, and he found it while out hiking the area. Told me there was something about it, bought it a month later and ever since its been a money sink for him."

Janna seemed puzzled, "But I thought he traveled for his work, like all the time? Why so much money on a house in the mountains?"

DJ laughed, "Great question, I'm sure Jay would give us some bullshit answer along the lines of, 'It looked pretty'. He's eccentric, but he does make a lot of money, so I'm sure there are worse ways to blow cash." The two entered the master bedroom, which was currently being occupied by DJ, the walls had a few posters of cartoons and anime characters, with pictures of the family sprinkled in between. Janna saw that the bed was a tangled mess of plushes and blankets, a laptop sitting to the side. A large closet with clothes strewn about it sat on the far wall, with a dresser sitting opposite.

"Ill be honest, I kinda pegged you as a bit more, uh…" Janna started.

"Tom boyish?" DJ offered a small smirk.

"I was gonna say… Ok, yeah. You got me there." Janna laughed.

The red head sat on the queen size mattress, grabbing a plush of a cutesy cat and giving it a squeeze. "What can I say? Im a bit of a dork. I did a lot of track and field in high school, before that I was the more stereotypical, chubby anime geek."

Janna leaned against the door frame, a little nervous to enter the room of her host so casually. DJ patted a spot beside her, and the faun girl finally shuffled in before settling on the soft bed. She herself found a little black fox and played with the pink tongue sticking from its mouth.

"So, what do you do on the day to day?"

DJ's face looked a little guilty as she leaned back and fell on her bed, "For the most part, nothing. My brother needed someone to look after the house, and I just happened to move back to Tennessee. Next thing you know, I'm a hermit in the mountains, binging anime and wasting time online."

Janna stopped playing with the little fox, "What do you do for money?"

"James pays for the utilities, sends me a little money for food and stuff, I don't really get payed, just enough to live. I have a lot of money saved up from my last job so I've just been whittling that away." DJ lifted her plushy in the air fiddling with its soft paws.

"What were you saving up for?" Janna blushed, thinking herself a little too forward. "Sorry, that was out of-"

"Nah, it's ok. I wanted to buy a house in Seattle, but life has a way of turning out different than you expect." DJ leaped up from the bed suddenly.

"How about some food?" the red head made for the kitchen, with Janna scampering after her. The two entered the room, and Janna took a seat near the island that sat in the middle, the stool allowing her to rest her forearms on the smooth marble. DJ was peering into a large fridge, which was flanked by drawers and a stove. The red head slowly turned around, her mouth pursed together in a small 'o' causing the faun girl to tilt her head, her braid swinging in tandem.

"I just realized I don't have any salads." DJ mumbled.

Janna let out a bell like laugh, "Fauns aren't all vegetarians, though I personally only like fish. Im sure you have something I can eat."

DJ rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed, Im just going to ask next time alright?" Janna nodded, her smile was teasing.

DJ returned to her search but quickly gave up, "Actually, all I have are frozen foods and beer, how about we make a run to town? It'll be a nice chance to get you familiar with the area. Plus I haven't left the house in like a week." she admitted.

Janna hopped from her perch, "That sounds fun! I haven't been to a human town in like, forever!" DJ ran to her room for her keys and wallet, and threw on a heavier jacket to fight the chill outside. The two exited through the front door and made towards an outdoor overhang, where DJ's truck was sitting. It was an older model, painted red and dotted with years of scratches and dents, the flat bed was just as worn and the tailgate was littered with silly bumper stickers. Janna saw a pride flag sitting amongst the collage, but didn't bother to comment on it.

—

The scenery rushed by as DJ carelessly drove through the winding mountain roads. Janna was on the verge of making a comment about their speedy descent, but the ease that DJ took the turns made her realize she was just being nervous. The sheer cliff drops sure didn't help. DJ flicked her hand to the stereo and managed to turn the radio on without looking. After twisting a nob for a few seconds, low folksy music filled the cab of the car, slightly drowned out by the roar of the heat escaping from the vents.

When the feelings of vertigo subsided, Janna took the opportunity to greedily soak in the mountains around her. Even growing up at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains, the faun could never get over her love of the countryside. Waking up early to see the mists rise from the peaks, the lush green trees and outcrops of rock that jutted through them, she never got tired of it. There was something comfortable about these mountains. Her uncle had once told her it was the oldest range in the world, and perhaps thats why their soft rolling faces and deep valleys entranced her so.

Soon the mountains were punctuated by houses. A cabin here, a cabin there, suddenly they pass a gas station, and almost out of nowhere they entered the small town of Unicoi. The trees opening up into a flat valley, with small businesses and churches separated only by a few blocks passing by them. Soon they entered a more populated area and pulled into a small grocery store. The town wasn't exactly in the middle of nowhere, but had somehow managed to escape major corporations from taking hold. The grocery store had a large sign over the top, faded with tinges of rust, reading _The Feed & Till._

The parking lot wasn't very busy, probably due to the fact it was two pm on a Tuesday, with most people probably eating lunch or working. DJ quickly found a spot and threw the truck into park before yanking the keys out of the ignition. The two exited the vehicle, tightening their clothes around them as the winter wind whipped around them. It was overcast today, painting the area in a grey light. Leafless trees swayed as the moody clouds above trudged by, begrudgingly stopping the sun from warming anything in the small town. As DJ approached the door of the establishment, Janna saw a man with a ratty coat sitting on a bench, cigarette in hand and a large backpack by his side. The faun watched DJ fish a five dollar bill out of her pocket and handing the man the money, briefly telling him to stay warm as he nodded his head gratefully. Janna watched the man as they finally entered the store, giving him a smile as he waved to her.

"Is that common in these parts?" Janna asked, following DJ as the red head procured a shopping cart.

"More so in the summer, but that guy is a local. Names' Nick I think. He normally ends up being able to stay at the church down the street at night, so he doesn't have to sleep out in the cold."

"Is unemployment that bad here?" Janna loosened her scarf around her neck, the heating in the store cranked all the way up, causing a light sheen of sweat to appear on her wind burned cheeks.

"Not really. Mostly just people drifting in on the way to the east coast. Nick normally helps rebuilding older buildings in the summer, and bums around when it gets cold. He's had a hard life, most of those type of people do." Janna nodded, wanting to change the subject to something more light hearted. Looking around she examined the shelves of canned foods, watching DJ swiftly grabbing vegetables and soups.

"Anything you're particularly fond of?"

Janna shrugged, "Im good with salads and fruits, but I know it's hard to find those this time of year. We normally eat a lot of potatoes in the winter back home."

"Well thankfully, the modern food industry is here to provide." DJ led the girl to a produce section, though sparse they were able to stock up on the few things required to make salads. Janna picked up a fruit and sniffed it, her nose crinkling instinctually.

"It is nice to have food all year round, but this apple smells like it was frozen."

DJ chuckled, "No doubt, Im assuming fauns grow all their food?"

Janna nodded, "Most everyone farms in some way or another, it helps that we have nature magicks to speed things along."

DJ looked at the girl to see if she was joking but Janna was examining the remaining fruits, picking out the most fresh amongst the lot. When it was clear that the faun had indeed been serious the red head simply went back to her shopping. _I really need to look into more liminal stuff. Well, I'm sure me and Janna can talk about it in time._ After a stop to pick up some eggs, the two made their way to the front of the store with a loaded cart. Exiting the aisles they approached a check out manned by a bored teenager.

The girl had easily just turned eighteen, she had long brown hair tied in a ponytail and was wearing a stiff apron covering a hoody. She had a cellphone in hand, idly flicking a thumb across the screen as she lackadaisically chewed bubblegum. When the two approached and began to set their items on the conveyor belt, DJ spoke up, "Keeping busy Sophie?" The girl let out a sigh as she began to ring up the items and bagged them.

"Just trying not to fall asleep DJ. Who's your frie-" Sophie stopped momentarily when she noticed Janna's antlers and pointed ears, causing the faun to flush and glance away. _The first of many_ , thought DJ before answering, "This is Janna, she's a faun from the colony in South Carolina. She's staying with me as part of the Liminal Exchange program for the next few years."

Janna peaked through her hair at the young girl before giving a meek wave, causing the teenager to gasp.

"You are like, so pretty. How do you keep your hair so soft? Are those your real eyelashes? They are _so_ gorgeous. Are those flowers real? They look real. How do you have fresh flowers all the time?" Janna's head spun at the amount of rapid fire questions thrown her way, barely having time to register everything. She felt a hand on her shoulder hearing DJ giggle softly, "Whoa there Sophie, lets ease up on the lightning round."

Sophie's cheeks colored a bit as she mumbled an apology before returning to her work, quickly ringing up the total on the till. After DJ paid, Janna finally spoke to the girl, "Um, my flowers are so fresh cause they grow in my hair, they are kind of apart of me. They become much larger in the spring and summer. It was nice meeting you Sophie."

The teenager grinned and waved at the two, before flicking her phone back open and texting her friends about what she just saw. _Finally a bit more excitement in this town._

—

With dinner eaten and drinks in hand, the two sat on the spacious couch as a movie played. Janna in particular seemed entranced by modern cinema, and after a lengthy deliberation of DJ's collection, they had settled on an old drama set during World War II. Most of the time was filled with a comfortable silence, as Janna drank in the lines in the movie. The two quipped here and there as the story unfolded, before watching with teary eyes as it ended.

Janna quickly clapped her hands together softly, "That was awesome! How many more movies are there?" DJ grinned at her, "My friend, let me show you two of my favorite people. Netflix and Hulu." The red head quickly pulled the apps up on the television and Janna's eyes widened before breaking into a shining smile. The two spent the rest of the night watching movies, some so funny they found themselves on the ground giggling uncontrollably. Some so scary that the faun girl had shyly scooted closer to DJ only to bury her head into the taller girl's shoulder, emerald eyes peaking out to see if the terror had passed. A few hours later DJ checked her phone, noting the late hour she glanced over at Janna, only to see the girl curled up on the couch, her head resting on a pillow, and her hoofed feet poking out from under the blanket.

 _How can someone be so adorable?_ DJ thought, eyes curiously examining the girl. Her sweater hung loosely off one of her shoulders, the neck line dipping to show a soft pronounced collarbone. She had changed into a pair of small shorts that had a hole cut out for her soft tail, which bobbed and twitched in her sleep. DJ found herself examining the petite girl's face, before her eyes settled on the soft pink lips that slowly breathed in and out.

DJ quickly glanced away, a curious feeling blossoming in her stomach. _Jesus DJ I know you're lonely but ogling girls in their sleep is a bit much don't you think?_ The red head rose and stretched, walking over to her friend before gently shaking her awake. "Hey, lets get some sleep in a real bed ok?" The faun mumbled something, before sitting up and looking around, as if she was suddenly remembering where she was. As DJ went to turn out the lights in the house, Janna herself stretched and stood, making for the stairs before suddenly stopping and shyly turning around to her host.

"D-DJ? Um, is it ok if I sleep in your bed tonight? That movie was really scary…" Janna's face could not be more red, her hands fidgeting and and eyes slightly cast downwards. DJ thought her heart might explode.

"Uh-um of course. Come on, lets get some sleep."

Janna climbed into DJ's bed after clearing some stuffed animals. Pillows were arranged and DJ flicked the lights off, crawling underneath the blankets beside her homestay. There was silence for a moment, as if the two didn't know what to say. But it wasn't long before Janna turned over and whispered, "I had a lot of fun today, and I'm really happy your my host. Goodnight DJ." The red head smiled and said her own goodnights. Quickly the sounds of light breathing could be heard, and DJ knew the faun had fallen asleep. Feeling unnaturally awake DJ attempted to quiet her mind from replaying the day's events, and from her curious feelings about the girl laying inches away from her.


	3. Chapter 3

Daily Life with Appalachian Monsters: Ch. 3 - A Tune for the New Year

Early morning sunlight peaked through the curtains, and Janna reluctantly opened her eyes before slamming them back shut, snuggling deeper into the warm blanket around her. She pressed her back into the cushions behind her, surprised at how soft and warm they had gotten. _Maybe I should move into the living room just so I can sleep on this couch._ She hugged a stuff animal before curiously wondering when they had brought those out into the living space the night before…

Janna's eyes snapped open to stare at the pink cat in her arms, only to dart to the posters of anime and cartoons adorning the wall. She tentatively pressed her butt back against the 'cushions' behind her, feeling the curves of her host give way. It didn't take long to notice that an arm was draped around her waist, feathered tattoo staring back at her. Something akin to panic seemed to well up inside of her, but within it a strange emotion seemed mixed in as well. This was _comfortable_ , this was bad, this was _amazing_ , no it's crossing boundaries. Janna wanted to sprint away, but was afraid of waking her bed mate. With a series of careful wiggles she untangled herself from DJ, and slowly crept out of bed, silently escaping through the door and closing it without waking the snoozing red head.

 _That was too close,_ Janna relaxed slightly, wondering what she would even do if the girl had awaken to their unintentional spooning. _Probably die of embarrassment._ Janna quickly moved to grab her scarf lying on the kitchen island, before deciding that she was too hot and bothered to wear extra protection from the cold. She thought that a morning walk would be the best way to take her mind off of the tight grip of the red heads hands, or the feeling of DJ's breasts pressing into her bac-

 _Maybe a cold shower too_ , she added, quickly stepping through the front door, and into the chill of the winter morning. Thankfully, it hadn't snowed recently, and so the only thing hindering her foot steps were the dead branches and detritus of the forest. She quietly made her way across the ridge that DJ's home stood on, silently appreciating the calmness of the morning. Here and there winter oriented birds flew by, trilling at the faun, before continuing their journey through the sky. As she reached a particularly beautiful clearing, she came to a stop and sucked in the frigid air, then released it slowly, allowing the tightness in her body to unwind. After around ten minutes of pseudo meditation Janna decided she should head back, mind successfully cleared. At first she confidently set on her way but after a few minutes, she hesitated. True, the ridge was on her opposite side now, but for some reason she didn't remember passing by that set of rocks. Or remember that tree. Or recognize that bush.

The faun stifled a groan before pressing onwards, determined not to get lost on her first full day as a home stay. Soon, in what she thought was the appropriate amount of time to start seeing signs of the house, she stopped and huffed, crossing her arms in frustration before glancing around once more. _These trees do seem more familiar, but I swear they were later on in my walk._ The girl continued, the sun now shining more prominently, warming the chilled faun and giving her a little bit more energy.

Curiously the forest had gotten quieter, Janna felt a surprising lack of presence from the birds or the slumbering animals in the trees and ground. Anxiously, she quickened her pace, having never before experienced the morbid sound of a silenced forest. There was always at least _some_ sort of noise, and she wasn't far enough away from civilization to not hear passing cars, no matter how early it was. It was like someone had hit the mute button on everything except for her frantic steps. Thankfully, she heard the wind starting to pick up, but that did little to sooth the anxiety building in her. This wind was wispy, intangible, barely causing a breeze or moving the trees around her.

 _Wait, that sounds more like-_ Whispers.

Just as she was on the brink of sprinting, she stopped as the forest opened up and found a large black fox staring at her. The animal was almost eldritch in appearance, its fur was smooth and free of mats, around its neck hung something that Janna couldn't quite make out. But the most shocking part was it's eyes, which were a rich magenta. The faun froze in mid stride, unsure of how to approach the animal. The two stood and stared at one another for what felt like an eternity. Just as Janna had found the courage to approach the creature, it turned tailed and lopped off into the woods, seeming to disappear behind the first tree it crossed.

Shaken Janna walked quickly from the scene, not even bothering to notice that the wind rustled through the trees again, or that the birds continued their songs. _What on earth was that?_ She pondered, _I've heard of forest spirits but could it be…_ The faun stopped and breathed a sigh of relief as DJ's cabin came into view. Rubbing heat into her arms she quickly hopped onto the porch and opened the front door, turning to look back into the forest before closing it behind her.

—

 _Maybe I should give uncle a call, perhaps an offering might settle it_. Janna made for the kitchen where she found her host happily humming over a sizzling pan, a cup of coffee sitting next to a steaming pot. The smell of eggs made her stomach growl and the faun announced her presence, "Good morning DJ." she chirped, causing the red head to turn and smile.

"Good morning! Enjoy your walk?" Janna eagerly nodded, walking to the counter beside the girl and grabbing a cup of the delicious brew. She added a tiny amount of creamer before pouring her cup of coffee and taking a slow sip, enjoying the savory taste of hazelnut permeating her tongue. "I like to enjoy the mornings outside, it's so calm watching the world wake up."

"I love hiking this area, I'll have to show you my favorite spots sometime."

Janna remembered her run in with the fox, "I would love that."

"Im making omelettes, want this one full of veggies?" Janna nodded enthusiastically watching as the woman skillfully flipped the omelette and sprinkled cheese on top of it before sliding it onto a plate and handing it to the faun. Going by the wolfish look Janna gave the meal, DJ expected the dish would be gone by the time she was done cooking her own food. As she poured more eggs into her skillet, she dutifully scatteredred and pushed the eggs until they began to harden. Adding the medley of sautéed vegetables and a sprinkle of bacon she had cooked earlier, DJ flipped the omelette and slid it onto her own plate.

Turning around to join her homestay, she saw that Janna had indeed almost finished her meal, absentmindedly poking at some loose mushrooms that had fallen out of the pocket of eggs. The faun beamed at her host, "That was delicious! Thank you." Dj waved her hand before starting on her own food, "No problem, but I should tell you, it's the only thing I know how to cook. Maybe cookies, but that's not exactly difficult."

"Well I think having a master omelette maker in the house is quite the trade-off."

DJ smirked, "Flattery only gets you more omelets." Janna hummed in response. The faun grab her dishes and quickly washed them clean, setting them in a drying rack to the side of the sink. Waiting for her host to finish her meal, she took the time to wander the house, examining pieces of art on the wall. It seemed like James appreciated older paintings detailing american life, throughout the more realistic pieces sat a few paintings of the American Civil War. Janna curiously studied a large painting of a battlefield, seeming to focus on the more epic side of things, with brilliantly bright colors and sharp lines. While not overly graphic, it had it's share of fallen soldiers.

Every now and then, a framed photo would appear, showing a red headed family, or in particular, a red headed sister. Janna looked at the younger DJ, and true to her host's word she did seem much more plump, but that was simply baby fat that had sense melted into the face that Janna knew. Beside the family photos stood a picture of a more recent moment, a graduated DJ standing next to a tall broad shouldered man, their arms wrapped into a one sided hug as the girl proudly displayed a diploma. The man himself had wavy stylized hair, just as red as hers, with significantly less freckles. A solid jaw and prominent brow, his eyes were a similar pale blue, but they seemed darker than DJ's.

 _How can one family be so attractive?_ Janna grumbled in her mind, finding herself returning to the kitchen where her host was finished washing the dishes of the morning. Janna glanced at the clock and saw that it was getting close to eleven in the morning, "I think I'm going to go get cleaned up." DJ nodded as she dried the last dish in her hand placing it in a cabinet above the stove, "Sounds good, got anything planned to do today?" The faun shook her head, "I'm still not sure exactly, I guess I could learn more about human society but I doubt movies are the best way to get my information."

DJ smiled, "Pop culture is fun, but yeah not the most clear lens to look at day to day life." The red head tapped her chin, an idea forming quickly. "Well there does happen to be a holiday tonight, if you wanted to we could hop into town and celebrate. There's a pretty fun bar where we could eat dinner and hang out at. Do you do well with crowds?"

Janna colored, "That sounds pretty neat, whats the holiday?" Truthfully, she hated crowds, but if DJ was going to be there she thought she might be able to overcome her awkwardness to spend more time with the girl.

DJ took notice that Janna hadn't answered her question, "New Years Eve! Its just an excuse to drink, but some people take the time to reminisce and make resolutions for the next year. But honestly, its an excuse to drink." Janna nodded, trying to hide a fidget in her hands, "I've heard of that one, it sounds fun, when do you want to go?"

The red head walked towards the faun and stood across from her, trying to fight the smile on her face, "Janna, if you're nervous we don't have to go, it's a silly holiday."

The faun visibly relaxed before giving DJ a determined look, "You mentioned resolutions, I think I can stand a crowded bar."

DJ smiled and walked towards her room, patting Janna's slim shoulder as she came past, "Cool, but don't be afraid to tell me if you wanna leave early, we can just come back here to celebrate. Im gonna get cleaned up for the day."

Janna felt her gut flutter at the contact, "Um, ok." she mumbled, bounding for the stairs.

She entered the bathroom and quickly closed the door behind her, steadying her breath. _Seems like we've failed at the whole 'not falling for your host' thing Janna._ With a sigh, the girl stripped off her sleep shorts exposing a pair of cute pink panties that hugged her hips. Soon her signature sweater joined them on the floor, exposing her petite breasts, soft tan nipples hardened with the chill of the morning. The girl studied her body in the mirror for a moment as she untangled her braid, twisting and turning to peak at all she had to offer. Casually she slipped her underwear off, blushing at the unkempt state of her pubic area. Despite having the lower body of a deer, the short soft fur ended at the 'V' of her pelvis, giving way to more human-like hair. _Darn winter coat_ , she complained, not looking forward to the, _minimal,_ hour she would need to spend to groom her legs. _Another time_ , she thought, locating a towel underneath the sink and curiously moving over to the shower.

The porcelain tub was indeed older, but it seemed that the shower head had been upgraded to a more modern design, most likely due to the extensive remodeling required to revive houses from desolation. Tentatively, she twisted the nobs of the bathtub, shooting a steady stream of water straight into the drain below. The girl adjusted the temperature appropriately, satisfied that hot water arrived within a decent amount of time. She pulled a nob on the faucet and soon soft streams of water rained into the bath. Curiously, she fiddled with the shower head, amazed that it was detachable for ease of bathing. _Humans come up with the most incredible things_ , she mused, entranced that the pressure and amount of water could change with the rotation of a dial. At the last setting of the dial, a single jet pulsated out of the head, surprising the faun, who carefully tested the pressure with her fingers. _The most incredible things…_

A fierce blush crept up her neck as an idea came to her, and the cutesy faun went to lock the bathroom door before allowing herself to get lost in the pleasures of a hot shower on a winter's morning.

—

DJ stood in her bedroom, attempting to fight the leviathan issue that was the unkempt state of her closet. Blouses, sweaters, shirts, jackets, all seemed to occupy the space in disorderly fashion, making it difficult for DJ to find the exact set of clothes she had in mind to wear that evening. With a sigh of surrender she opted for a basic t-shirt and her favorite sky blue hoody. When they would leave later in the evening she would get a heavier jacket to complete the ensemble. After wiggling into a pair of grey jeans she retrieved a pair of fuzzy long socks in an attempt to fight the chill in her toes. Satisfied with her appearance she left for the living room, swiping up her cell phone along the way, gleefully peering at the device as she delved into the wonders of the internet.

It seemed that Janna was still showering, if the rush of water above was anything to indicate, so DJ instead took a seat on the couch and flicked the news on. The same benign information seemed to scroll past the screen as reporters talked of this and that. Surprisingly, the news had taken a change for the better in the past few years. With the arrival of thousands of new species, most of the world's government had taken breaks on warlike activities and operations, instead opting to focus on integrating and improving society for the betterment of the new arrivals. The Interspecies Act was quite bold, asking that human's not harm liminal in any way, but perhaps because of the series of economical and cultural booms accompanying their arrival, the world's governments decided it was alright for peace to exist for a while. That's not to say everything was perfect, and of course small areas of fighting still existed in the world, not to mention it was impossible for _everyone_ to accept liminal-kind. The first year had especially been difficult for people to accept, DJ remembered sullenly the amount of protests and people who were very much against the integration. Thankfully, and perhaps with the strong insistence of the government, things had turned out fair enough. Sure the odd crime here or there would happen, or a protest in a major city would occur. But for the most part, things had turned out better than she had expected.

They were still in a day of age where humans had trouble accepting each other, to think adding liminals in the mix wasn't going to complicate things was an understatement.

"And now for our top story for the day, the amending of certain sections of the Liminal Exchange Act has lessoned the strict definitions of 'harming' liminal-kind. With this change, the law has relaxed it's stance on relationships and marriages of humans and liminals, allowing all species and human's to be romantically involved without repercussions."

DJ boggled at the information, _Who would have thought that got greenlit so fast. No doubt more pressure to bring everyone together._

"Here with me today are some of the first applicants for human/liminal marriage license, and their campaign for legalizing their love."

The camera panned to a smartly dressed young woman, and beside her an equally dressed Orc, both beaming at the camera as they held hands. DJ continued to watch the interview, a small smile playing across her face as the two detailed their courtship and the difficult fight to push interspecies relationships to a legal foothold. With the conclusion of the interview, the television switched back to a back reel of recent sporting events, which was animatedly being commentated by a young pixie woman. DJ lowered the volume and allowed herself to zone out, eventually becoming lost in a repetitive video game on her phone. Before long the rush of water above shut off, and the host attentively waited for her homestay to come back downstairs. Glancing at the clock she noticed it was half past noon, and hopped up to make a small lunch, opting on a simple salad. The television droned on as she munched on her food, turning to see Janna appear from the staircase.

The girl wore a pair of green jeans that ended at her calves, a slim belt tied around her waist. She had a pastel pink long sleeved shirt, covered with a faux leather jacket, a fuzzy material poking out of the neck, pockets and zippers adorning in most ridiculous fashionable places. DJ let out a whistle, which caused the faun to roll her eyes before spinning in a circle and striking a pose. Janna giggled as she took up a seat beside DJ.

"Can I ask you something Janna?" DJ started, locking eyes with the faun.

"Please do."

"Why are you so damn cool?" The faun giggled again, fiddling with one of her zippers on her jacket.

"Well I _did_ tell you I was an odd ball at the colony. Most fauns are pretty open to nudity, and I don't mind it myself, but I just _love_ human fashion. I remember when I was ten, one of my cousins snuck out and managed to find a bunch of magazines in a recycling bin. Everyone seemed really focussed on all the movies and news but I ended up hoarding the fashion magazines."

DJ smiled, "Stuck with you ever since huh?"

Janna let her own smirk show, "You have no idea, I used to sew with my aunt at all times of the day, my first real job was making coats for the winter months, or repairing clothes. When I first saw a computer, I immediately went to fashion websites and jotted down any techniques I could find. When the Exchange act passed I was able to get more materials, I was pretty much the only seamstress in the colony, but I ended up teaching some of the younger fauns a lot of what I knew."

"Any chance you're hoping to continue that?" The red head stood and moved to clean out her salad bowl.

"Maybe once I get settled, we'll see."

"Well, we got a little while to kill, I'm gonna go check my emails, we can leave for town around five or so."

The faun nodded, then prepared her own meal. After she was done eating she wandered over to a book shelf that contained a plethora of varying books. Grabbing one detailing colonial history she settled into a comfy spot on the couch and read.

—

The _Sips N' Giggles_ was a dive bar. To suggest the town's favorite watering hole was anything more would be heresy. The building was only one story, but was fairly large as it was. It was akin to a saloon, with a covered front porch and a sign above it. Large windows covered with neon lights were at the face of the building, with an extensive outside back deck behind it, stringed lights criss-crossing haphazardly above. Even with the chill of the evening settling in, many people wrapped in heavy coats still sat outside, smoking cigarettes and chatting with friends old and new. DJ pulled her truck up into the gravel parking lot, switching the machine off and beckoning for Janna to follow her. The two moved their way through a crowd of young men standing near a series of motorcycles, amiably chatting and showing off their vehicles. Several of the men turned their heads at Janna, but most continued with their conversations. A few of the men gazed at the duo, watching them enter through the doors of the bar.

A large man set on a stool was their greeter, he was very tall and had rippling amounts of muscle, completely covered by tattoos. He was completely bald but sported a large bushy beard that obscured his mouth. Heavy metal earrings drooped his ears downward. DJ fished in her pocket to bring out her wallet, flipping it open to show her ID. Janna scrambled to do the same, her own ID just being a plastic card she kept in her front pocket, detailing her a member of the homestay program. The man barely glanced at DJ's ID before giving Janna's a scrutinizing look. He glanced at the faun several times before shrugging and handing it back to her. "You ladies have a good night, an' it's good to see ya 'round again Deej."

"Thanks Billy!" DJ called, making her way to the bar with Janna in tow.

The building was homely, worn wooden floors and old linoleum tables filled the main room. Parallel to the entrance was the bar, and to the far right was a small stage. A large door went to the left, detailing the entrance to the back deck. The walls were covered with neon signs, paraphernalia of various sports teams and nascar drivers. Large televisions would sometimes interrupt these spaces, where various sports were being broadcasted. The bar top itself was completely full, tall stools facing the extensive wall of liquor and taps, however there was a space in the middle with an open spot that had no seats. Standing behind it was a young woman with a full figure, idly talking to another guest sitting to the side. She had brunette hair and a round face, and was wearing a T-shit that had the bar's name written in garish colors on it.

The woman's eyes caught the two approaching the bar and excused herself from the conversation, her mouth twisting into a playful smirk, "As I live and breath, Dorothy Jennings."

"Meg, please." DJ rolled her eyes before shooting her own smirk. Leaning against the bar DJ idly scanned the list of beers on tap, already knowing exactly what she was going to order. "Things been rowdy tonight I take it?"

"Not anymore than usual, you know Billy keeps the peace." The woman was already pouring the beer she knew the red head would order, before setting it on the counter, earning a nod of approval from DJ who slid a credit card towards her. "And for your shy friend here?"

Janna was peering at the menu, before sheepishly smiling at the pair, "Um, I'm not very familiar with human drinks."

DJ giggled, "This is my friend Janna Forest-borne, she's staying with me through the exchange program. What kind of stuff did they drink at the colony?"

"Mostly sweet wines, and grain alcohol, but I never really had a taste for that."

Meg tapped her finger at a subsection of the menu, pointing at a cocktail, "If you like sweet I recommend some of these, this one is my personal favorite."

"I-Ill take one of these please," motioning to the drink Meg had pointed to. "Of course!" The bartender swiftly put the concoction together, finishing it with a flourish and a tiny umbrella.

"Nice meeting you Janna, hope you girls enjoy your night." The bartender winked at them, before busying herself with the other customers.

DJ lead Janna to a booth set on the back wall of the room, facing the small stage. DJ shimmied off her heavy coat a settled into the worn leather seats. Janna took a sip of her cocktail, and was surprised at how fruity and bubbly it was. The faun took in the people around them, studying the local color. Most of the people here were older, possibly in their fifties and sixties. They had worn wrinkled faces, most split in half by beaming smiles, even if some of those smiles were missing a few teeth. However, the joy shared in the room showed camaraderie from years past, and Janna could feel the history of the little town leak from it's people around her. Mixed in were a fair share of younger adults, a lot of them dressed in typical country-ware: camouflage coats, blue jeans and trucker hats. Amongst them though were a fair share of more fashionable men and woman, there was a name for them but she couldn't quite remember- _Ah! Hipsters_.

DJ considered the faun as she peered around with her large eyes, trying to fish for a topic, "So Janna, is Forest-Borne a family name?"

The faun took another sip of her drink before showing a small smile, a hint of her front teeth poking out from her lips.

"Well, kind of. It's a bit more complicated than that. So… Fauns actually have several clans within the colony, based on where you are born, thats the surname that you take. There's the River-Borne, the Mountain-Borne, the Cave-Borne and strangely the Barn-Borne. Those guys are weird. But those are the main clans, but there are a bunch of smaller ones. The weird thing is though, Faun's traits change based on where they are born, even if your parents are from two different clans, if you're born in, say the forest, then you'll have green eyes and brown hair." Janna flourished her long braid, "All fauns have grey eyes when they're born, I think the traits start settling in a few weeks later."

DJ tried very hard to keep her mouth from hanging open, partially succeeding, "That's so cool! So are you guys really… Like magic?"

"Sort of, some are better than others. It's never like, anything flashy like what you'd see from the movies. It's more like, our plants grow faster or we can speak to birds. The most powerful ones tend to be doctors and midwives. It helps a lot, we have a really high life expectancy for babies even though we don't use modern equipment. Also we tend to live a little bit longer, which sounds nice but uh… The colony is a bit crowded. Heh."

DJ chuckled with her, taking a tentative sip of her beer, "Was that the reason for leaving?"

"Yeah, well. It's up there with a couple others," Janna let out a small sigh and took another drink.

DJ tapped her glass, thinking it best to let that line of thought die. Before she could continue the conversation a man stumbled onto the stage at the opposite end of the room. He fumbled with some lame introduction before passing the mike off to an inebriated man. Loud twangy country music began to blare through the speakers. The man's voice might've been pleasant, if it wasn't for his drunken belting, and butchering of the words. Regardless, the bar got rowdy and people cheered and whistled, singing along to the chorus and generally having a good time.

"Oooh, this looks fun! What're they doing?" Janna sat up eagerly watching the spectacle of an older woman mumbling through a Dolly Parton song.

"Karaoke! Pick a song, go up and read it off the little T.V. and try your best to get through it." The red head chuckled, "I always need to get a few down before I have the courage to do any of that."

"Well why don't we go up together? What's a song we might both know?" Janna leaned forward and grabbed a booklet sitting on the table, thumbing through the extensive list of songs available to the bar. "The colony didn't really have much when it came to music, but we _did_ have a radio we got to listen to every now and then."

DJ leaned over the faun's shoulder brushing up against Janna as she gave the list a look over. Janna stilled, but tried to not to let the redhead's presence distract her. Janna could feel her breath tickling her neck, she felt herself lean into the taller girl, disguising the move by sliding the booklet closer for DJ to see.

"Know any pop songs? I really like the new singles that AN1M4L has been putting out."

"The fourteen membered liminal pop group? They're pretty good but I'm not familiar with much of their stuff. Oh! I know this one!" Janna pointed at a song on the list.

"Blink-182? Didn't peg you for a punk type of girl."

"Hey, I can rock out with the best of them." Janna proudly crossed her arms giving a small pout. DJ chuckled, "Alright I'll put us down, we just gotta wait our turn."

It wasn't long until the host and homestay were called up, Janna and DJ knocked back their drinks and stood, the two made their way to the stage and before long 'Bored to Death' began to scroll past the screen. Janna took point, a soft bell like voice lilting with the melody, leaving DJ to accompany during the chorus. As the song hit it's crescendo the bar cheered loudly for the two ladies, DJ noticed the faun shrink slightly, but the girl continued her singing, a smirk slowly turning into a beaming smile. When the song came to an end, DJ went back to the bar to get a second round, leaving Janna to make herself comfortable in their booth.

"That was pretty impressive."

Janna froze, turning her gaze to a tall young man, his hair was blond and he sprouted a well groomed beard. He was dressed in a flannel shirt and a black bomber jacket. He casually leaned against the booth, blocking the entrance closest to Janna.

"What's your name baby? Haven't seen your like here before." He oozed confidence, a smirk playing across his face as Janna blushed. "I-uh…"

"Oh, one-a' those shy girls huh? I find that the quiet ones tend to be louder when it comes to other things." He raised an eyebrow, shifting slightly closer.

If Janna was blushing before she must have looked like a lobster now, she cast her eyes away and fiddled with her jacket, hoping to find something to say to get the man to stop talking to her. Sadly, her silence only seemed to egg him on, misinterpreting the shyness as playing hard to get rather than the social awkwardness that it really was.

"Y'know if you want we can get outta this place, I got my ride just outside. Ever ride a motorcycle in the winter? Feel the wind whip around ya? You can hold me tight to keep warm, I won't mind."

The man leaned forward before shrinking back as someone cleared their throat. DJ appeared as Janna's savior, setting two drinks on the table and sliding into the booth with Janna.

"Scram Jacob, she's not interested."

The man scowled before rolling his eyes, "Whatever DJ, should've known you's was a buncha dykes anyways." As he turned and sauntered off, Janna gripped the table, about to stand and yell something before a hand reached over and patted her shoulder, glancing at DJ she saw a smirk on the red head's face. DJ cupped her hands around her mouth before calling, "If every girl you speak to tonight is a dyke, you'll turn the whole town gay!"

The man whipped around as tables around them began to laugh, flipping the pair the bird before crawling back over to his friends at the bar, who began roasting him over the exchange. Janna giggled into her hand, eyes connecting with her friend who promptly burst out laughing, causing the two to descend into the endless cycle of trying to stop laughing and instantly failing.

Once the faun had calmed her laughter back into a giggle, she wiped tears of mirth from her eyes, "Thanks DJ, I had no idea what to do to make him leave."

"No problem, he's always trying to pick up chicks here. I would know, he's failed many times when it comes to me. Sadly the few he ends up bagging just makes him more confident and douchey. One of these days I hope he hit's on someones girl and get's taught a lesson. That'd be fun." The redhead took a swig of her beer.

 _Kinda like what you did for me?_ Janna hid her blush in her drink, pretending to watch the horror show of a man singing Celine Dion in a deep baritone. The two spent the next few hours lost in their chatter, slowly knocking back drinks and even performing a few more karaoke songs. As the clock's hands ticked closer to midnight, the bar turned it's televisions to the New Year ball drop on television. The numbers slowly ticked downward, leaving only a minute left of the old year.

Janna noticed couples pairing together as everyone crowded the bar, people snaking hands into one another's while others jumped the gun and began kissing.

"What's with all the touchy-feely-ness?" Her blush had become permanent due to the copious amounts of alcohol she had put down. DJ quickly found that the faun outpaced her easily, and even after she had stopped drinking beers, to sober up before the drive home, she found that Janna could probably out drink even the most skilled lush.

"It's a silly thing where people like to start off the new year with a kiss. I dunno, maybe people think that starting your first moment of a new year with some intimacy will give them good luck or something."

Janna nodded her head, sighing as she slumped onto DJ's shoulder, eyes closing in exhaustion as the past few hours caught up with her. "That sounds nice."

The countdown began, with only ten seconds left in the day. Maybe it was the remnants of the drink, or maybe it was the atmosphere, perhaps it was the countdown itself, regardless DJ leaned down to peck the Janna's cheek as the ball dropped and the New Year began.

Janna felt her headrest move and turn to see why, only to have her lips come into contact with DJ's. The two flinched backwards, staring wide eyed at one another. DJ began sputtering and Janna's eyes grew into the size of saucers, a hand touching her pink lips.

"Ohmygod I am so sorry! I was just gonna kiss your cheek! Oh no, That's still weird too!" Janna giggled and averted her eyes, "That's ok DJ, I get it accidents happen."

The two settled into awkwardness as the bar devolved into cheering and singing, people hugging and kissing in celebration. It wasn't long before DJ felt the night catch up with her, and with a sigh she went to the bar to pay her tab before returning to fetch Janna.

"Come on Janna, let's get home and sleep."

The faun stifled a yawn before following her host. With a wave to Billy the Bouncer, the two got in DJ's truck and made their way back to the house. Janna leaned her head against the window, eyes fluttering shut as she watched the stars above them.

 _Not a bad way to start a new year_. She thought as she drifted off to sleep.

 **AN:**

 **Sorry for the delay, spilled some water on my trackpad and had to get that fixed. Thank you to those of you who have commented! I hope you guys enjoy reading. These first couple of chapters have been somewhat of an prologue to the story as a whole, in true Monster Musume fashion, there will be a larger cast of whacky liminals, I cant wait for you guys to see some of the characters I have planned, and how they interact with one another.**

 **That being said, excuse any stuff I make up about liminals, I know there are more 'official' sites detailing races and their culture, but Im using the stuff I make up to tie into plot stuff. On top of that, with a few exceptions most of the places and people in this story are made up and have no connection with any real life people/places.**

 **Again, thanks for reading! I'll try and get the next chapter out soon!**


	4. Chapter 4

Daily Life with Appalachian Monsters: Ch. 4 - Sans Indian Burial Ground

Chilled wind howled against the side of the house, causing windows to irregularly shudder and groan against it's might. The cold of winter crept into the house, causing a certain faun to draw her blanket in tighter. Janna couldn't sleep, she found it quite a common occurrence lately. During the day it was easy not to think about things, but in those late night hours her mind whirled with thoughts. It had been a few weeks since New Years, and even though she knew and accepted that the kiss was an accident, it was all she could think about. The night of fun they had, the hours they spent talking, resting her head against DJ and of course the kiss itself.

It was chaste and too quick, Janna barely registered it at the time, but now she had mulled over the moment for what felt like eternity. What she would give to experience it again was growing into a surprisingly long list. Heat crept into her stomach, and it wasn't caused by the blanket's she had pulled against her so tight. She let out a small sigh, absentmindedly she allowed her hand to wonder down underneath her covers, slowly it crept past her stomach before finally reaching the destination of her core. This had also become a regular occurrence, something she could use to momentarily abate her constant desires. She let a low hum out, feeling her shoulders relax, before they started scrunching up again in pleasure.

Just as she was getting to the good part, a long creak echoed through the room. Shooting up from her bed she glanced around her room. Everything looked in order, bare, plain and colder than she liked. After giving another once around she laid back down and continued her 'relaxation', only to hear the creaking again. Janna froze up, now she noticed what the noise was. Her bedroom door was slightly ajar. _It's… It's never creaked like that before._

The door opened slightly.

Janna never knew that it might be possible to jump out of one's own skin, but she nearly did at that moment. She leapt to her feet, striking a pose somewhere in-between cowering in fear and a karate stance. She inched towards the door, her hooves scraping across the wooden floors. Slowly, painfully, she leaned forward and opened the door quickly, only to be greeted by the cold empty hall. Tentatively she peered around the door frame before whipping her head back and forth as she searched for the source. As she was about to try and get some sleep, a light at the end of the hallway caught her attention. It was the door that lead to the attic.

The hallway seemed to grow longer and longer as Janna reluctantly crept down it. The house was positively frigid, the faun drew her sweater in tighter as she neared the imposing entryway. She pulled the door open, it was heavy, or maybe she was just imagining that. A long staircase lead to another door, she could see the small glow of a light seeping from underneath. Each step she took upwards felt more like a descent, the darkness didn't disappear as she got closer to the light source, in fact the beams of light only heightened the darkness around her. Janna could hardly hear anything at the sound of her heart hammering in her chest. Why was she continuing forward? She felt like escaping, running full till to DJ. _Oh Pan, are we really such a scardy-cat that we'd run off just because we're getting scared of what is obviously an old house with faulty wiring and creaky doors and-_

She reached the top of the stairs, her hand gripped tight around the doorknob. With a deep breath she pushed herself into the room.

It was large, with many storage boxes piled high around her. At the far end of the room, there were stacks of paintings. Many of them were similar in theme to the ones that hung in the living room below her, but one in particular caught her attention. It was a painting of a beautiful woman, she wore the type of garb befitting a southern woman of the Civil War. She had long silky brunette hair, a brilliant hat befitted with feathers and flowers sat on her crown. Her eyes were a light brown, with darker flecks within them. Lush, full lips and high cheekbones framed her as royalty. The painting was centered against the wall, and for some reason no matter how Janna bobbed her head, it seemed that the woman's eyes followed. As she got closer she noticed a name scrawled in the bottom right corner, _Cecilia Nottingham_. Was this the name of the painting? Or the name of the artist? Perhaps both? The wind rustled the house, and a rattling noise caught her attention.

It was the large window to the right, it was almost as tall as her, and it peered out over the front of the lawn. As Janna studied the shadows of the night that danced along with the shrieking winds, she noticed amongst the trees a figure stood, ghastly pale. It was wearing a tattered dress that whipped about in the gale, a dress that seemed far more familiar than Janna liked. The faun whipped her head back around to the painting's eerie gaze, then flew to the window to get horrifying confirmation. But the woman was gone.

Slowly she stepped away from the portal, once more focussing on the painting. This time the eyes were _really_ staring at her.

Then they blinked.

With a startled gasp Janna fell onto the floor, she rubbed her own eyes frantically, then slapped her cheeks.

"Ok Janna, it's time to wake up now! Wake up, wake up, wake up-" Shakily she got to her hooves, and slowly backed away to the door, continuing her pleading chant to awake to a world that made sense. Suddenly the painting shifted, no, the _woman_ shifted. First her arm came into view from beneath the frame, then it exited the painting, grabbing hold of the frame as if she was leveraging herself upwards. Which is exactly what it did.

The woman exited the canvas, it was a sickening tearing motion, like she was releasing herself from tight restraints. The ghastly being climbed out of the frame, collapsing onto the floor in a sickening broken way. Bones weren't _allowed_ to collapse like that, to fold like that. The woman began to stand, limbs passing through one another before settling in a wavy stance. The woman's head snapped upwards, focussing pallid eyes on the faun.

It was at this point that Janna did the most rational thing a grown woman could do in her current situation. She screamed and ran for her life.

—

DJ was having a hard time sleeping, that had been a regular occurrence lately. Truly the kiss had been an accident, and Janna didn't act any differently even the day afterwords, or the following weeks. Mostly it had been DJ who was nervous, though she tried to mask it. Really she didn't know how to feel about the kiss, on one hand it wasn't bad. It was quite pleasant if she was being honest, even if it was for the briefest of moments. On the other, she had stumbled onto an impossibly awkward situation with a woman she had pledged to house for the next two years.

She tried not to think too hard about it, she tried _really_ hard not to think about it. Instead she tried to think about anything else, especially not the pit of growing desire in her stomach. With a grumble she rolled onto her stomach, desperately trying to ignore the heat between her legs. She flipped onto her side, rubbing her thighs together before reluctantly sliding her hand into her waist band. If she was going to feel this way she needed release fast and now.

She let her thoughts go back to what she was trying to fight, thoughts of the faun who resided in the same house as her. She thought about the kiss. She thought about the way Janna cuddled against her as a scary movie played. She thought about the time she hastily removed the passed out fauns shirt to treat her cut. She remembered her surprise that the girl didn't were a bra, how cute that petite chest was, or how sexy those rock hard abs were. She remembered that morning where Janna pressed into her tight, the warmth they shared. She thought about how disappointed she had been when she pretended to be asleep as the faun left her side. She wished she had the courage at the time to tighten her grip, or at least admit she had been awake.

"Janna…" she breathed, back hitching unconsciously as she increased her pace.

"Janna." This time a little louder than she would like, but she couldn't help it. She was too close.

She might've gotten there if an ear piercing scream hadn't sent her rocketing out of bed.

"Janna?!" DJ flung her door open, barely making it several steps into the living room before colliding with a tiny ball of gasping fear.

"Janna, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare? Janna? H-hey come on speak to me!"

The faun was breathing is heavy hitching gasps, the strength of which left little room to speak. DJ pulled the girl close, hoping that the physical interaction would calm her in some way. A few seconds later Janna seemed to realize what was happening or where she was. Quickly she looked up to DJ before quickly glancing around.

With a long breath she started, "O-ok, I don't know what I saw. But there's a woman in a painting upstairs and then I thought I saw her outside but then she was back in the painting, then she came _out_ of the painting and then s-s-she-"

DJ gripped the faun's shoulders, "Janna, I don't understand. Is there someone in the house?"

"I don't think it's alive DJ." The girl whimpered, crushing her face against the red head's chest.

DJ didn't quite understand what Janna was trying to convey, that is until she looked up from the quivering mess in her arms and saw a shadow looming in the kitchen. With a quick flick of her arm she tried to turn on the overhead light, only to find that it wasn't working. The shadow crept forward, no it glided forward. It's feet left the ground rising into the middle of the room. A tattered dress was all that could be made out in the darkness, DJ couldn't see a face, but in that moment she wasn't quite sure she wanted to.

The thing raised it's arms, it floated closer, finally revealing a haunted beautiful face. The figure lead forward and whispered one thing.

"Boo."

The lights in the room flicked on, DJ and Janna blinked around owlishly, confronted by the blinding change in illumination. A curious sound drifted through the house, the being was… _Giggling?_

"Oh my god I got you guys so good!" The floating figure was doubled over in laughter, she no longer wore a tattered dress, but instead was wearing more modern clothing, a simple t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. She was a pale blue, her whole body was. She was slightly opaque, not enough to see clearly through but enough to make out the background behind her. The woman floated down to the pair, who were understandably dumbstruck as they clutched one another. The floating being leaned out and poked DJ in the cheek, it was like… a gust of wind, concentrated in just the perfect spot with the perfect amount pressure to feel like a finger, sans the warmth of a human body. Wisps of ethereal tendrils drifted away from the point of contact, like the fog of a vapor giving way to a gentle breeze.

"Ok, I know I'm scary DJ, but I put a hold on the theatrics, we can finally have a normal conversation."

"Bwuh?"

"Eloquently put darling." The wispy woman seemed to dissipate into hundreds of smaller tendrils before reforming onto the couch in the living room. The woman patted a spot next to her motioning for the pair to join her.

"Cecilia Nottingham at your service! Resident poltergeist and original owner of this fine home."

—

The clock ticked on the wall, the trio sitting in a stewed silence. Once the two terrified woman had calmed down Cecilia offered an explanation, however, because of the late hour DJ was struggling to keep up. The red head rubbed her eyes, glancing up at the time to see that it was coming close to three in the morning, she spared a glance at Janna, who had her knees curled into her chest, a curious expression had replaced her previous terrified one. DJ turned towards Cecilia, the ghost sat perfectly still, well as still as the flowing ethereal tendrils could sit, with one leg crossed over another. The woman had an easy smile on her face.

"So… you're a ghost." DJ began.

"A poltergeist, to be exact." Cecilia corrected.

"Right, a poltergeist instead of a ghost. Could you explain the difference?"

"Well a ghost is just the spirit of a mortal who left something behind, or has regrets. You can think of it as a copy of a persons soul, that happens to appear in the material world every so often. A poltergeist is more material, I have more physical attachment to this world while still remaining ethereal. For example, I can pass through walls and floors, but I can still hold most objects as long as they're light enough. Furthermore, poltergeist's tend to have something that ties them to an area, it can be a body or an object, the source isn't really set in defined rules. Or well that's what I've gathered over the years."

"And how many years is that?" This time Janna chimed in, poking her eyes over her knees and brushing back her messy unbraided hair.

"Hmmm, I was twenty-eight when I died I think. And it's two-thousand twenty three… around one hundred and fifty years?"

"That explains all the Civil War paintings." DJ grumbled.

"Oh! Do you like them? I made them all!" Cecilia left the couch to float up towards the extensive collections on the wall, hanging in the air with a slight bob.

"They are nice Cecilia, but I think it's time for us to get some rest, I think maybe we should continue this in the morning."

"Fine with me darling, but I won't be as visible during the day, but I should be able to talk." Cecilia waved to the pair before floating towards the ceiling and passing through it completely.

Janna and DJ sat and stared at the part of the ceiling the apparition went through, before turning towards one another.

"DJ can I sleep in your bed tonight?"

"I was about to invite you."

The two made their way into DJs room, once it might've been an arousing thought to the pair, instead it was just a soothing action that allowed the two to finally drift off and forget about the terrifying night.

—

DJ awoke to the low droning sound of the television in the foyer, groggily she sat up and stretched, letting out the appropriate groans that accompanied waking up from a sleepless night. The girl shuffled to her bedroom door and let it drift open. She continued her march into the foyer, and towards the kitchen. Through the weariness of her sleep deprived eyes she saw Janna on the couch, who gave her own sleepy good morning. DJ returned the greeting and moved to the coffee maker which, miraculously, had already been started, allowing the red head faster access to the caffeine her body desperately craved.

"Cute panties DJ, really highlights your ass."

Whipping around DJ was greeted with the bemused smirk of a see-through Cecilia, who was currently sticking halfway out of the island in the middle of the kitchen. The ghost allowed her 'body' to float upwards but her stance never changed. This gave the movement a stilted look, like some kind of video game glitch of a model shooting up into the air. DJ gave the poltergeist a measured look before allowing her eyes to drift down to her wardrobe, which simply comprised of a white spaghetti strap tank top and a pair of frilly white panties that had a cute blue bow on the front. When DJ returned her gaze upwards, Cecilia was now 'laying' on her stomach, legs crossed in an 'X' and hands resting on her chin, eyebrows wiggling mischievously. DJ focussed past the see through woman and found a much more alert faun fixing a pair of emerald eyes on her.

DJ instinctively crossed her legs and moved to hide her underwear from view by taking up position behind the island. Cecilia gave an echoey laugh and drifted towards Janna, who shrunk behind the back of the couch, failing to smoothly disguise her ogling. DJ sighed in defeat, and let her long legs appear back into view. They were all women of course, nothing no one had seen before right? _Right. Except I'm still trying to figure out wether this is sexual tension or awkwardness in the house._ The red head took her own place on the couch, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around herself. With a long sip of her coffee Dj felt herself liven up, she saw Cecilia 'laying' across the far side of the couch with Janna sitting to her right. The poltergeist was serene in her stillness, her aura was much more subdued in the daytime. For one, the tendrils of pale blue light didn't float around her, and her body was much less cloudy. In fact, only the most defined portions of her body were outlined. She was 'wearing' a t-shirt and pair of jeans, or rather her form appeared as if she was wearing clothing.

DJ cleared her throat catching the attention of her two house mates, "So now that I'm awake and convinced that last night wasn't a nightmare, I think we should clear some stuff up."

The ghost stayed in her position but her eyes locked onto DJ's, Cecilia allowed her cheek to lay on her hand, elbow propping her head up.

"So do you… Haunt this area? Is this house really one hundred and fifty years old?"

Cecilia picked up her other hand and twisted it in a 'so-so' way, "Haunting? Technically. The house? This isn't the original, not all the way. It was torn down once before and rebuilt on the same foundation. But I think for you guys to get the full picture I'd have to tell you a little story."

The two woman sat up in attention, Janna even muted the television, her own interest piqued.

"Not so stiff please, it's a long story even if I spare you some of the details." Cecilia shifted her body to better face the duo, "Where to begin? Well, I was the second child of my family, the first was my brother, who was about nine or so years older than me. My family was very well off, my father owned a lot of the land around this area. He ran several logging facilities here and in the Carolinas. My mother sadly passed away when she gave birth to me. Just one of those things back then you know?" The woman shrugged her shoulders, "Regardless, I was raised by my governess and my aunt in Charlotte, North Carolina. My childhood was nice, and my education was superb. My father told us that no matter our gender we should both be raised and kept to the highest standards, not a very popular opinion back then. To say I wasn't liked amongst the other girls my age was an understatement. I was a down right terror! I questioned men, I disregarded adults and I didn't attend church." Cecilia winked at Janna and DJ, "Quite the scandal, but my father didn't care, he was too rich to conform to the rest of the social elite. He was a self made man you know? Orphaned, adopted by a lumber worker, started his own mill, and the rest is history. That kind of rough background didn't sit well with anyone, but I think his life of poverty and illiteracy drove him to making sure we were learned."

Cecilia floated into a sitting position, her eyes wandered around the ceiling of the room.

"When I came of age, every family wanted to marry into ours. For my brother, that meant offerings of business and swarms of blushing airheads in fancy gowns. For me it meant fighting off suitor after suitor for years. I have to give them credit, I wasn't exactly the easiest to woe. Sure I had my looks and my wealth, but I was a downright bitch. I was cold, haughty, and would often humiliate most young men, and in one situation moved one to tears. I was twenty years old, and still not married. Unheard of seeing as some men and women were promised from the age of fourteen or sixteen. Though my father was unorthodox, he found this to be unacceptable, and really pushed for me to settle into somewhere. I thank my lucky stars that I found Edward."

The poltergeist laid her hands in her lap, a smile creeping across her face as she peered down at them.

"Edward Nottingham was unlike any man I had met. Suave. Intelligent. Handsome. Well built. He made woman faint when he entered the room. It's true, I saw it once. A French sailor turned merchant, who got too big for his own good and was offered an exuberant amount of money in exchange for his company. He retired at the rip age of Twenty-nine, and spent the next several months traveling." Cecilia let her smile show in earnest, "How lucky I was to find him gracing one of the horrible galas my father made me frequent. How lucky I was to spill my drink on his fancy coat, _me_ , the educated, up-tight maiden who never showed anything but grace." The poltergeist twisted her hands together and grinned like a school girl thinking about their first crush, "Oh, I was mortified, the whole room went quiet. I can remember it now… All the looks I was getting! I could practically _feel_ what the room was thinking of at the time. _She didn't even talk to him and she's about to drive him off._ Or maybe, _Look at what MacDonnett girl has done this time._ But despite what we all feared, he _laughed_!"

"I fell in love with him right then and there. What was to be the social faux-pas of the century turned out to be my greatest fortune. We married two months later, after spending nearly every day with one another. It was fast, too fast for anyone's liking, but my father gave us his blessing. It helped that I was pregnant." Cecilia wiggled her eyebrows again, earning a chuckle from DJ. "Edward started to write, mostly stories about his time on the sea. He gained a bit of notoriety but nothing incredible. Mostly I think it was his wealth that sold his stories, people probably thought they could figure out how he did it. Alas it was simply stories of his travels." Cecilia's eyes seemed to mist over, but her smile hand't left, "Then I gave birth to the most beautiful girl, Elizabeth. Named after my mother of course. We were so happy, everything was perfect for a while. But… When Elizabeth was two the south succeeded, it wasn't long after that the war broke out. Edward took us to France, and we stayed in his hometown by the sea raising our little girl. When the war was over, we sailed back. But It wasn't until I had returned to America that I heard my brother had died."

Cecilia's face dropped, but then returned to a more neutral expression as she continued her story.

"My brother had been working in Washington D.C. as a lawyer for years, he was working his way up to running as a representative before the war broke out. He stayed and continued living there, he donated a considerable amount of money into the Union war effort. Maybe he found it opportunistic, thinking he could support the war and find an excuse to take over office for North Carolina once the war was over. He was at a fort delivering rations when it came under attack. He was killed by stray cannon fire, just a regular citizen trying to help. His wife and sons had been staying with my father here in Tennessee, at the original cabin that stood here. She was never quite the same. I suppose I wasn't either. That's when I started to paint."

The ethereal woman floated upwards towards the walls, dragging her hand across the paintings she passed.

"I don't know why I chose to paint the thing that took him away from me, a war I wasn't even present for. But I read a lot of accounts of soldiers and officers at the battles. I painted their experience, their story. I guess it was my way of trying to understand what he had died for." Cecilia stopped at a particularly gruesome battle, "I had painted in my youth on occasion, but not at the frequency I did after he died. It was an obsession. It lead to a tiny bit of fame but nothing too extravagant. I think it was the quantity of my work rather than my quality, but that's another thing entirely. We had moved back to Charlotte but it was dreadful, the war had ruined the economy down here. I hate to say but slavery was profitable, and without the work force there wasn't any business. We contemplated moving back to France, but I wanted to help my sister-in-law raise her boys. We moved to my Father's cabin and lived there for a number of years. He passed soon afterwords, I think losing my brother reminded him too much of the loss of my mother. We all continued our lives, my nephews were sent to study in a fine set of schools up North. Elizabeth grew into beautiful child, and I was to move her back to a more populated area. We were set to go to Nashville but I fell ill."

"It was consumption, an illness all too familiar at the time. Before my symptoms got too bad, Edward took Elizabeth to the city. That fool wanted to stay with me, he loved me too damn much, but I convinced him to think about what was best for our girl. We stayed in touch through letter while I stayed at the cabin with a maid and my sister-in-law. Before long I sent her away too, I didn't want any other children to lose a mother. I still painted, even to my dying day. I started a self portrait, added little by little every day. I managed to finish it on my last. I remember how shaky my hands had been while I coughed, but I still got my signature out. I think that's how my maid found me, bless her heart." Cecilia crossed her hands on her chest, "I remember being so confused watching the young woman carry my own body away from me. I don't think I realized I had died until the funeral. They buried me not too far away, it was the last time I saw my family. My dear Elizabeth had just turned nine years old…"

Janna had been sniffling during the early parts of the story, but at this revelation she burst out crying, burying her eyes into her arm. Cecilia floated down to the faun and wrapped her in a hug.

"Oh, Janna don't cry. My baby still got to live her life even if it wasn't here. They never moved back, but Edward visited every now and then. I still hadn't become powerful enough to fully materialize or even speak. I don't know when or how he died, I just sort of… realized he was never coming back. Soon after no one came by to tend the house and it fell to ruin. Those were the dark years, the years I believed I was cursed. I thought it was punishment for something I had done, and I became a miserable wraith. Kids would sneak up here quite a lot to catch my wailing at night. Some were even brave enough to enter the house, but I soon sent them fleeing. For a long time I was alone, the house disintegrated around me and I felt myself drifting closer and closer to nothingness."

"Then a man came to the house, he brought his family with him. An art professor, who happened to be a fan of my paintings. They rebuilt the house back to it's former glory. I believe it was the 1960's, and with the family, the man brought my paintings. He had been collecting them, and some how learned of this house and who had passed in it. Of course the fanatic had to buy it. With it he found my self portrait, and had it restored as well. That's when I finally became a poltergeist. Maybe it was because I had poured the last amount of my time here on earth into it, or maybe it's because of some cosmic coincidence. Whatever the reason, that painting is my bond to the physical world. At first I used my powers to try and communicate with them, I remember the youngest daughter being especially receptive to the ethereal. Sadly, as time went on I found that the man's obsession was too toxic. He worshipped my portrait, made a shrine of my grave, and was neglecting his family along the way. That was when I began to haunt them properly. Slamming doors, breaking windows, you know, the usual stuff. I don't remember much, since my rage blinded me, just that I wanted him out. Sadly, it hit it's peak when I possessed the poor girl and had her set the house on fire."

"Jesus…" DJ interjected, wiping her own open tears away from her eyes.

"I was a malevolent being Dorothy. I had let misery consume me, and from that I unleashed it onto others. They stopped the fire, and the man had come to his senses. He packed up his family that night and moved away. A lot of the paintings had been damaged, all but my portrait. I spent the next fifty years alone once more, until…"

"Until?" DJ asked, a little more hopeful than she wanted.

Cecilia smiled once again, "I met your brother Dorothy! James was my saving grace. He just sort of wandered up here and stuck around. Camped in a ruined house for a whole night. I don't know what it was but I got pissed! I came out and tried everything! Appearing in the corner of his vision, putting all his stuff on the ceiling, writing messages threatening his life in the blood of small animals…"

"What?" Janna snapped her eyes open on that one.

"Shush Janna, anyways he just stuck around and the next thing I know we were talking!"

Cecilia left the couch once more, floating over to a framed picture of DJ and James, picking it up in her hand and carrying it over to the pair.

"He heard my story, helped me remember my life before. He bought the house and rebuilt it and made it my sanctuary."

Cecilia offered the photo to DJ who gently took it and studied her brother.

"I've been spending the last several years restoring my paintings, and even making a few new ones. When you moved in I was a little wary, I had only really trusted James up to this point. I emailed him extensively about it but you know how he is… All those damn short responses. I much prefer talking to him in person."

"I have to admit, Im a little peeved he didn't mention you…" DJ grumbled.

"That one is on me, like I said I haven't exactly been the most trusting person this last century. I asked him to let me take my time in introducing myself."

"Were you just trying to find a way to scare us this whole time?" Janna asked, a hint of accusation in her voice.

Cecilia threw her hands up, "Ok, I will admit that is part of it. When Janna got here I immediately put my scare plan in action. It's harder to hide from two people than one. You'll have to forgive my actions last night, just an old woman wanting to play her tricks." Cecilia giggled.

DJ let herself smile as well, "I mean… You got us pretty good, so i'll let it pass. But from now on lets keep the scary mischief to a minimum alright?"

Janna nodded vigorously causing Cecilia to float over and wrap her in a cold hug.

"Oh alright alright. Anyways how could I? Janna here is just too adorable!"

Despite her best intentions DJ felt a pang of jealousy as she watched Cecilia snuggle the struggling faun close. It must have shown because Cecilia lifted her eyebrow at the red head, before giving a knowing smirk. DJ quickly averted her gaze which caused the poltergeist to drift towards the woman. "I've been around for a long time darling," Cecilia whispered as she floated past, "And I know a couple of lovesick fools when I see them." DJ felt her face heat up, but before she could refute Cecilia floated up towards the air.

"Well, this has been fun girls but it's getting harder for me to materialize with the sun getting higher. I'll come back out around dusk, i'll see you then!" The woman floated through the ceiling disappearing from the room, only to pop her head back through for one final quip, "Oh, and DJ do you think we can talk this evening? I want to see about talking to that agent of yours." With that she finally left.

DJ shook her head, half in amusement and half in disbelief. _This was not how I imagined the new year would turn out._

 **AN: It's spooktober baby! I love horror, in every medium, so it makes sense that we should get a spooky chapter in this glorious month. Again thanks to everybody reading so far!**


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